Frederick Hasselborough, an Australian, discovered the uninhabited island on 11 July 1810, while looking for newsealing grounds.[4] He claimed Macquarie Island forBritain andannexed it to the colony ofNew South Wales in 1810. The island was named for ColonelLachlan Macquarie,Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. Hasselborough reported a wreck "of ancient design", which has given rise to speculation that the island may have been visited before byPolynesians or others.[5] In the same year, Captain Smith described in more detail what is presumably the same wreck and incorrectly speculated that it belonged to French explorerJean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse: "several pieces of wreck of a large vessel on this Island, apparently very old and high up in the grass, probably the remains of the ship of the unfortunate De la Perouse".[6]
Between 1810 and 1919, seals and then penguins were hunted for their oil almost to the point of extinction.[4] Sealers' relics include irontry pots, casks, hut ruins, graves and inscriptions. During that time, 144 vessel visits are recorded, 12 of which ended in shipwreck.[7] The conditions on the island and the surrounding seas were considered so harsh that a plan to use it as a penal settlement was rejected.[5]
Richard Siddins and his crew were shipwrecked in Hasselborough Bay on 11 June 1812.Joseph Underwood sent the shipElizabeth and Mary to the island to rescue the remaining crew. The Russian explorerFabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen explored the area forAlexander I of Russia in 1820, and produced the first map of Macquarie Island. Bellingshausen landed on the island on 28 November 1820, defined its geographical position and traded hisrum and food for the island'sfauna with the sealers.[citation needed]
In 1877, the crew of the schoonerBencleugh was shipwrecked on the island for four months; folklore says they came to believe there was hidden treasure on the island.[8] The ship's owner,John Sen Inches Thomson, wrote a book on his sea travels, including his time on the island. The book, written in 1912, was entitledVoyages and Wanderings In Far-off Seas and Lands.[8]
When the Legislative Assembly considered the matter on 2 September 1890, the virtue of transferring a dependent island was questioned, and (after several points of order and jokes from members) the assembly deferred consideration until the following day (effectively denying the transfer).[14] By October 1890, it was certain that Tasmania would not condone the transfer of the island to New Zealand.Sir Harry Atkinson (Premier of New Zealand) expressed his regrets that Tasmania had decided against the transfer, with Fysh noting that all of New Zealand's stated objectives could be achieved under existing Tasmanian legislation and through inter-colonial agreements.[15] In mid October 1890,The Southland Times was reporting that an explanation was forthcoming from Wellington.[16] On 23 October 1890, Fysh formally advised New Zealand of the colonial legislature's refusal to transfer the island, and on 20 November 1890 Knutsford formally advised Onslow that the British government had not consented to any transfer.[17]
On 20 April 1891, regulations issued by the Tasmanian Commissioner of Fisheries for the protection of seals on Macquarie Island came into effect. This was possible under existing Tasmanian legislation, namely the Fisheries Act 1889.[17] By 26 October 1891, these regulations were amended to expire on 20 July 1894, and to no longer include the forfeiture of a vessel as penalty for the offence.[18]
In 1933, the authorities declared the island a wildlife sanctuary under the TasmanianAnimals and Birds Protection Act 1928 and, in 1972, it was made a State Reserve under the TasmanianNational Parks and Wildlife Act 1970.[20] On 25 May 1948, theAustralian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) established its expedition headquarters on Macquarie Island. In March 1949, they were visited by the FifthFrench Antarctic Expedition on their return trip fromAdélie Land where any landing was made impossible due to extensive pack ice that year.[21]
The island had status as abiosphere reserve under theMan and the Biosphere Programme from 1977 until its withdrawal from the program in 2011.[22] On 5 December 1997, Macquarie Island was inscribed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage List as a site of major geoconservation significance, being the only mid-ocean ridge on Earth where rocks from theEarth's mantle are being actively exposed above sea-level.[20][23]
On 23 December 2004, an earthquake measuring 8.1 on themoment magnitude scale rocked the island but caused no significant damage.[24]Geoscience Australia issued a Tsunami Inundation Advice for Macquarie Island Station.[25] The paper indicated that atsunami caused by a local earthquake could occur with no warning, and could inundate the isthmus and its existing station. Such a tsunami would likely affect other parts of the coastline and field huts located close to the shore. According to several papers,[which?] an earthquake capable of causing a tsunami of that significance is a high risk.[citation needed]
Macquarie Island is about 34 km (21 mi) long and 5 km (3 mi) wide, with an area of 128 km2 (49 sq mi).[4] The island consists of plateaus at north and south ends, each of 150–200 m (490–660 ft) elevation, joined by a low, narrow isthmus. The high points include Mount Elder on the northeast coastal ridge at 385 m (1,263 ft), and Mounts Hamilton and Fletcher in the south at 410 m (1,345 ft). The island is almostequidistant between the island of Tasmania and the Antarctic continent'sAnderson Peninsula, about 1,500 km (930 mi; 810 nmi) from either point.[4] In addition, Macquarie Island is about 630 km (390 mi; 340 nmi) southwest ofAuckland Island, and 1,300 km (810 mi; 700 nmi) north of theBalleny Islands.[citation needed]
The island is located on thetectonic plate boundary between theAustralian plate to the northwest and thePacific plate to the southeast. It is part of the Macquarie Ridge, a 1,600 km (990 mi) long fault zone in the oceanic crust, running southwestwards from New Zealand along the plate boundary. The Macquarie Ridge has formed along the plate boundary by movement of the two plates towards each other, leading to uplift along the boundary. However, in earlier geologic time the two plates had been moving apart, allowing lava from the earth's mantle to rise to the seafloor, formingbasalt. The subsequent reversal of the movement of the plates has uplifted the basaltic material from the seafloor along the line of the Macquarie Ridge.[29]
The Macquarie ridge lies entirely on the seafloor except for where it rises above sea level at Macquarie Island. The island emerged above sea level in recent geologic time - the highest points on the island may have emerged above the sea as recently as 300,000 years ago or less. The estimates vary based on the assumed rate of uplift and the changes in sea level over time.[30] The island is an example of anophiolite - a section of Earth'soceanic crust and the underlyingupper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed. The process has been described as "the island itself seems to have been simply squeezed toward the surface like toothpaste from a tube".[31] The unique exposures include excellent examples ofpillow basalts without any hint of continental crust contamination and otherextrusive rocks.[32] The geology of the island has been described as revealing "the best exposed and most isolated pieces of the ocean floor in the world". The unique geological exposures were one of the two criteria cited when the island was listed as aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1997.[23]
Macquarie Island's climate is moderated by the sea, and all months have an average temperature above freezing; although snow is common between June and October, and may even occur in summer. Due to its cold summers, the island has atundra climate (ET) under theKöppen climate classification.[citation needed]
Average daily maximum temperatures range from 4.9 °C (40.8 °F) in July to 8.8 °C (47.8 °F) in January. Precipitation occurs fairly evenly throughout the year and averages 1,002.1 mm (39.45 in) annually. Macquarie Island is one of the cloudiest places on Earth with an annual average of only 862 hours of sunshine (similar toTórshavn in theFaroe Islands). Annually, there are an average of 289.4 cloudy days and just 3.5 clear days.[33]
There are 316.7 precipitation days annually, including 55.7 snowy days (being equal toCharlotte Pass on this metric). This is a considerably lower figure than atHeard Island due to its longitude, which receives 96.8 snowy days at only 53 degrees south.[34]
Climate data for Macquarie Island (1991–2020, extremes 1948–2025); 6 m AMSL; 54.50° S, 158.94° E
The flora has taxonomic affinities with other subantarctic islands, especially those south of New Zealand. Plants rarely grow over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in height, though the tussock-forming grassPoa foliosa can grow up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall in sheltered areas. There are over 45vascular plant species and more than 90 moss species, as well as manyliverworts andlichens. Woody plants are absent.[citation needed]
TheTasmanian Government declared Macquarie Island as a wildlife sanctuary in 1933. The status was changed to a conservation area in 1971, and then in 1972 it was re-designated as a state reserve known as the Macquarie Island Wildlife Reserve. In 1977 the island was declared a Biosphere Reserve under theUNESCOMan and the Biosphere Programme, and it was also listed on the AustraliaRegister of the National Estate. In 1978, the area of the state reserve was extended to the mean low-water mark including the offshore islets, and it was formally named as the Macquarie Island Nature Reserve. Access to the reserve was restricted from 1979 onwards, requiring a permit for all those seeking access to the reserve.[43]
In December 1997, Macquarie Island was listed asUNESCOWorld Heritage Site, including the reserve and the surrounding waters out to 12 nautical miles. TheMacquarie Island Marine Park was established in 1999, and in 2000, the Macquarie Island Nature Reserve was extended in 2000 to include the area out to 3 nautical miles from the island and outlying islets.[43]
Ecotourism cruise vessels visit the island, but the number of visitors has been limited to 2,000 per annum.[44]
The island ecology was affected by the onset of European visits in 1810. The island'sfur seals,elephant seals andpenguins were killed for fur and blubber. Rats and mice that were inadvertently introduced from the ships prospered due to lack of predators. Cats were subsequently introduced deliberately to keep the rats and mice from eating human food stores. In about 1870, rabbits and a species of New Zealandrail (wekas) were left on the island by sealers to breed for food.[45] This caused huge damage to the local wildlife, including the extinction of theMacquarie rail (Gallirallus philippensis macquariensis), theMacquarie parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae erythrotis), and an as-yet-undescribed species ofteal. By the 1970s, 130,000 rabbits were causing tremendous damage to vegetation.[46]
Theferal cats introduced to the island had a devastating effect on the native seabird population, with an estimated annual loss of 60,000 seabirds. From 1985, efforts were undertaken to remove the cats. In June 2000, the last of the nearly 2,500 cats were culled in an effort to save the seabirds.[47] Seabird populations responded rapidly,[48] butrats andrabbits population increased after the cats were culled, and continued to cause widespread environmental damage.[47]
The rabbits rapidly multiplied before numbers were reduced to about 10,000 in the early 1980s whenmyxomatosis was introduced. Rabbit numbers then grew again to over 100,000 by 2006.[49] Rats and mice feeding on young chicks, and rabbits nibbling on the grass layer, has led to soil erosion and cliff collapses, destroying seabird nests.[47] Large portions of the Macquarie Island bluffs are eroding as a result. In September 2006 a large landslip at Lusitania Bay, on the eastern side of the island, partially destroyed an important penguin breeding colony.Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service attributed the landslip to a combination of heavy spring rains and severe erosion caused by rabbits.[50]
Research by Australian Antarctic Division scientists, published in the 13 January 2009 issue of theBritish Ecological Society'sJournal of Applied Ecology, suggested that the success of the feral cat eradication program has allowed the rabbit population to increase, damaging the Macquarie Island ecosystem by altering significant areas of island vegetation.[51] However, in a comment published in the same journal other scientists argued that a number of factors (primarily a reduction in the use of theMyxoma virus) were almost certainly involved and the absence of cats may have been relatively minor among them.[52] The original authors examined the issue in a later reply and concluded that the effect of the Myxoma virus use was small and reaffirmed their original position.[53] The original authors did not, however, explain how rabbit numbers were greater in previous periods such as the 1970s before the myxoma virus was introduced and when cats were not being controlled, nor how rabbits had built up to such high numbers when cats were present for some 60 years prior to the introduction of rabbits;[citation needed] suggesting that cats were not controlling rabbit populations before the introduction of the myxoma virus.[original research?]
On 4 June 2007, a media release byMalcolm Turnbull, Federal Minister for Australia's Environment and Water Resources Board, announced that the Australian and Tasmanian Governments had reached an agreement to jointly fund the eradication of rodent pests, including rabbits, to protect Macquarie Island's World Heritage values.[54] The plan, estimated to cost $24 millionAustralian dollars, was based on mass baiting the island similar to an eradication program onCampbell Island, New Zealand,[55] to be followed with teams of dogs trained bySteve Austin[56] over a maximum seven-year period.[57] The baiting was expected to inadvertently affect kelp gulls, but greater-than-expected bird deaths caused the program to be suspended. Other species killed by the baits includegiant petrels,black ducks andskuas.[58]
In February 2012,The Australian newspaper reported that rabbits, rats and mice had been nearly eradicated from the island.[59] In April 2012 the hunting teams reported the extermination of 13 rabbits that had survived the 2011 baiting; the last five were found in November 2011, including a lactating doe and four kittens. No fresh rabbit signs were found up to July 2013.[60]
On 8 April 2014, Macquarie Island was officially declared pest-free, after seven years of conservation efforts.[61] This achievement was the largest successful island pest-eradication program attempted to that date.[62][63] In May 2024, it was reported that the island had remained free of pests for 10 years, with vegetation flourishing.[64]
Populations of multiple bird species have begun to recover. Thewhite-headed petrel (Pterodroma lessonii) that was close to extirpation by 2001 has shown a large increase in breeding success, and the population is now slowly increasing. Two other species of petrel, thegrey petrel (Procellaria cinerea) andblue petrel (Halobaena caerulea) that were extinct on the main island from the 1900s, have now returned. Their populations are increasing at around 10% per annum.[65] In 2024, giant petrels and skuas are returning to their numbers of before the baiting.[64] However, ongoing monitoring, along with measures such as the use ofbiosecurity dogs to check cargo with the island as its destination are necessary, as there are new threats such asclimate change andavian influenza. Ongoing monitoring programs are funded by the federal government.[66]
Despite being declared pest-free, Macquarie Island is still inhabited by several invasive bird species, such as the domesticmallard andEuropean starling. The self-introduction of domestic mallards from New Zealand has become a threat to thePacific black duck population on Macquarie Island throughintrogressive hybridisation.[67][68]
Map showing Macquarie Island's position relative to New Zealand's outlying territories.
Macquarie Island has been administered as part of the Australian State of Tasmania since 1880. It was a part of Esperance Municipality until 1993, when the municipality was merged with other municipalities to formHuon Valley Council.[69]
Since 1948, theAustralian Antarctic Division (AAD) has maintained a permanent base, theMacquarie Island Station, on the isthmus at the northern end of the island at the foot ofWireless Hill. The population of the base, constituting the island's only human inhabitants, usually varies from 20 to 40 people over the year. Aheliport is located nearby.[citation needed]
In September 2016, the Australian Antarctic Division said it would close its research station on the island in 2017.[70] However, shortly afterwards, theAustralian government responded to widespread backlash by announcing funding to upgrade ageing infrastructure and continue existing operations.[70]
In 2018, the Australian Antarctic Division published a map showing the island's buildings with confirmed or suspectedasbestos contamination, which included at least half the structures there.[71]
In April 2024, Permanent Daylight-Saving Time on Macquarie Island was abolished by the Huon Valley Council and was changed to Summer DST. Previously, Macquarie Island was the only place on earth to observe permanent Daylight-Saving Time. Permanent Daylight-Saving on Macquarie Island was intended for stationed personnel on Macquarie Island Station, but then consent for a permanent human population was granted.[citation needed]
Through "Operation Southern Discovery", elements of theAustralian Defence Force also provide annual support for the Australian Antarctic Division and theAustralian Antarctic Program (AAP) in regional scientific, environmental and economic activities.[72] As part of "Operation Resolute", theRoyal Australian Navy andAustralian Border Force are tasked with deployingCape orArmidale-class patrol boats to carry out civil maritime security operations in the region as may be required.[73] In part to carry out this mission, as of 2023, the Navy'sArmidale-class boats are in the process of being replaced by largerArafura-class offshore patrol vessels.[74]
^abcdScott, Keith (1993).The Australian Geographic book of Antarctica. Terrey Hills, New South Wales: Australian Geographic. p. 14.ISBN978-1-86276-010-3.
^R.K. Headland,Historical Antarctic sealing industry, Scott Polar Research Institute (Cambridge University), 2018, p. 167.ISBN978-0-901021-26-7, p. 167.
^abInches Thomson, John Sen (1912).Voyages and Wanderings In Far-off Seas and Lands. London, England: Headley Brothers. pp. 139–191.
^Geoscience Australia Professional Opinion. January 2014
^Varne, R.; Brown, A.V.; Falloon, T. (2000). "Macquarie Island: its geology, structural history, and the timing and tectonic setting of its N-MORB to E-MORB magmatism Special Paper 349". In Dilek, Y.; Moores, E M.; Elthon, D.; Nicolas, A. (eds.).Ophiolites and Oceanic Crust: New Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America. pp. 301–320.doi:10.1130/SPE349.ISBN9780813723495.
^Selkirk P., Seppelt R., Selkirk D., 1990, Subantarctic Macquarie Island - Environment and Biology (Studies in Polar Research), "Appendix 11: Marine Mammals of Macquarie Island" p. 275,Cambridge University Press,ISBN9780521266338
^BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Macquarie Island.[1]Archived 23 April 1999 at theWayback Machine accessed 24 December 2011.
^Bergstrom, Dana M.; Lucieer, Arko; Kiefer, Kate; Wasley, Jane; Belbin, Lee; Pedersen, Tore K.; Chown, Steven L. (2009). "Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisited: a reply to Dowding et al. (2009)".Journal of Applied Ecology.46 (5):1133–1136.Bibcode:2009JApEc..46.1133B.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x.hdl:10019.1/120032.
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